Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK.
J Pers. 2021 Apr;89(2):258-275. doi: 10.1111/jopy.12580. Epub 2020 Aug 28.
Personality change is a growing field of interest, but relatively few studies have examined causes of change in Openness. We investigated whether it is possible to influence state Openness, and through what mechanisms this effect may occur.
In two experiments (Study 1: N = 144, M = 36.4, 58% female, 88% White; Study 2: N = 269, M = 34.0, 60% female, 91% White), participants reflected on and wrote about a personal experience requested to be either: nostalgic; positive and novel (Study 1); positive or novel (Study 2); or ordinary. They rated the events for nostalgia, positivity, novelty, and sociality, and completed measures of state positive affect, self-esteem, social connectedness, meaning in life, and state Openness.
Participants who recalled positive and/or novel events reported greater state Openness than those who recalled ordinary events. In Study 1, this also applied to those recalling nostalgic events. Event ratings of positivity (both studies), nostalgia and novelty (Study 2) independently predicted state Openness. State positive affect and self-esteem were independent predictors in both studies, suggesting possible indirect paths.
Reflecting on nostalgic, positive, and novel experiences can increase state Openness. This finding may be useful for interventions targeting trait-level change.
人格变化是一个日益受到关注的领域，但相对较少的研究探讨了开放性变化的原因。我们研究了是否有可能影响状态开放性，以及这种影响可能通过什么机制发生。
在两项实验中（研究 1：N=144，M=36.4，女性占 58%，白人占 88%；研究 2：N=269，M=34.0，女性占 60%，白人占 91%），参与者反思并写下了一个个人经历，要求这些经历是：怀旧的；积极和新颖的（研究 1）；积极或新颖的（研究 2）；或普通的。他们对事件进行了怀旧、积极、新颖和社交性的评价，并完成了状态积极情绪、自尊、社交联系、生活意义和状态开放性的测量。
回忆积极和/或新颖事件的参与者比回忆普通事件的参与者报告的状态开放性更高。在研究 1 中，这也适用于回忆怀旧事件的参与者。事件评价的积极性（两项研究）、怀旧和新颖性（研究 2）独立预测了状态开放性。在两项研究中，状态积极情绪和自尊都是独立的预测因素，这表明可能存在间接路径。
反思怀旧、积极和新颖的经历可以增加状态开放性。这一发现可能对针对特质水平变化的干预措施有用。
